Cairns
and Ferrets (7 searches to date? - Strange
Times We are
Living In)
I can provide an educated guess as to what would happen if you
introduced a Cairn to a ferret, but first I will tell you a true story
about what did happen when a cat
was introduced to a ferret.
Back in the 70's I came home from work one day to find what I thought
was a large, golden weasel bouncing around on the door step.
I had no idea what it was but it certainly seemed friendly enough.
I walked to the car, donned a pair of welding gloves with gauntlets and
approached the weasel. The thing was big - about the size of
a cat. It let me pick it up and in the process of doing so I
kind of lost my grip and it climbed up my shirt and draped itself
around my neck - a live weasel stole. I was a little worried about that.
Fortunately a neighbor drove up, got out of the car and said, 'Nice
Ferret!'
He knew quite a bit about ferrets and said what was draped around my
neck was a large, nice looking adult male. He said they were quite
friendly, could be litter box trained (it was) and would eat cat food
and any rodents that happened to be around the house.
I had a cat at the time and asked him if he knew how a cat might get
along with a ferret. He said he didn't know but if I felt like finding
out, he'd stick around.
I was curious so we went inside and I set the ferret on the
floor. It immediately started exploring, investigating
everything, found the cat food and started chowing down. That
was
one hungry ferret. The cat came walking down the stairs, took
one look at the visitor in the food bowl and attacked.
It was quite a sight.
Cat fur went flying and at some point the cat disengaged and flew up
the stairs. The ferret, other than being very excited, was a
little scratched up but no worse for the wear.
For the next several months, the cat never touched the ground. It got
where it wanted to go by jumping on chairs, tables, the
piano....anything to stay off the ground.
One day I got home from work early, walked up to the door and heard
noises in the living room. I thought there was a burglar in
the house.
I went over to a window and looked inside. Inside was the
cat on the floor, ferret bouncing around it, cat playfully swatting at
the ferret and then jumping on the couch with the ferret in hot
pursuit. They were having a grand old time.
I walked to the door, made some noise and went inside. Inside
was the ferret on the floor looking at me, the cat nowhere in
sight.
For the next year or so I never saw the cat and the ferret in the same
room at the same time unless I peeked in a window. More often than
not, the cat and ferret were playing in the living room.
Then one day the inevitable happened. The ferret got out of the house
and was never seen again. The cat stopped eating and within
several weeks died from what I imagined was a broken heart.
Last cat I ever owned. Last ferret too.
Back to the
question at hand:
What do I think
would happen if you introduced a Cairn to a Ferret?
I think unless the two were introduced at a very early age, you would
end up with a bloody mess - an injured dog and a dead ferret.
The Cairn would win out but pay a heavy price in the form of nasty
battle scars and puncture wounds, particularly if the ferret was a
mature adult male.
If you actually decide to go ahead and give it a try, have fun
explaining the results of your cross-cultural experiment to the Vet
and/or significant other.
I think that could get pretty bloody too.
Question: How to
introduce a Cairn terrier to a feral cat
Comment:
Can I watch?
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